Hurricane was true force of nature

Snooker legend Alex Higgins, who died on Saturday aged 61, lived a chaotic life which was never far from triumph or disaster

Steve Davis believed Higgins was the 'one true genius snooker has produced' (Sporting Picture)
If Alex Higgins’ turbulent, thrilling, terrifying life in snooker leaves us
with any moral to cling to, it is probably hidden in a forgotten story from
many years ago.

Back in 1983, Higgins was world champion and battling his usual demons. He
should have been world No 1 but was docked ranking points by the sport’s
authorities as part of a disciplinary action.

He had overdosed on sleeping pills and spent four days in hospital before
emerging to win the UK championships that year. His marriage was struggling.
His career was tottering. It would have been enough to sink most people but
Higgins’s nature refused to let him yield.

One day he received a letter. It told the story of a boy in Manchester who had
been in a coma for two months. His hero was Higgins. His mother was growing
desperate and wrote to the player looking for his